Dear John gets a letter.

Loney, Dear- Dear John

I wasn't surprised to find out he's touring with Andrew Bird, as I found lot of similarities between the album last week and this. In fact the album starts quite intensely and amusing with a very pop friendly sound, much like that Of Montreal before the went all trippy synth Prince style a couple albums back. Then the material starts to slow down into a modern folk routine much like Andrew Bird, or Bon Iver without the haunting vocals. 

In fact this album, more than any in recent memory, had me scratching my head thinking what each song reminded me of. I found similarities to Wolf Parade, Death Cab, Gomez, and the one that I kept trying to think of, sat at stuck in my memory like a caraway seed, or popcorn shell caught between molars, and the more I tried to think of it the further it sank, and I even started singing original soundalike song, but it continued to elude me. I finally placed it though, it was the track “Summers” that reminded me of “I Made a Resolution” by Sea wolf off their Get to the River Before it Runs Too Low EP.

That's why I have to pass on recommending this album, although I did feel this was a competent release, I couldn't pass the feeling I've been down this road before. Originality is paramount for me, and while I wouldn't accuse them of plagiarism, I couldn't help but think how everything reminded me of something else, with little new material. It's one thing to have a completely uninspired sound, It's another to just do something I had liked better the first time I heard it. Can't say I hated this release because it has some good tracks, but I quickly got indifferent to it, which artistically is a fate worse than fail.